vast
by NickyFox13
Summary: Tsukishima's falls just enough in love with Kuroo, Akaashi, and Bokuto during the training camp that he knows he's gonna suffer sooner rather than later. Fourshot.
1. Tsukki

Like some all knowing deity,

the gymnasium's vast presence

exists in some strange, omnipresent vacuum

with the answer to all questions asked,

from the most shallowest of superficial

down to one's deepest, innermost desire;

all Tsukishima really wanted to know was if

he'd ever survive this training camp alive.

The team is supposed to act as a whole

yet Tsukki doesn't really seem to click:

at least, it's a fear of his-

one he cannot vocalize

(maybe it's the pride stuck in his throat

holding him back from opening up)-

that he cannot, will not, ever connect

on some spiritual or emotional level,

where you feel energized

by the kind of intensity of human connection,

yet here Tsukki is,

the least extroverted

and the least sociable of the bunch

(excluding possibly Kageyama,

who has somehow taken

socially awkward to new, inept levels).

He is an outsider

in the broadest of senses-

how do you

even _begin_ to talk to people

who have more energy than you,

exerted over a sport that may not even mean anything

outside of this insular place?

Somehow,

he has the keen sense of self-awareness

to remind himself

that it's Tsukki's own fault

for not plucking the barest amount of civility

because, if Tsukki looked hard enough,

there are players here just like him:

with common interests, like dinosaurs and the stars

and a life out of volleyball worth pursuing,

varying classes in a different universe away from Miyagi,

and intricacies explored through idiosyncrasies.

Just as he's about to psych himself up to socialize...

okay, yeah right-that would never happen,

that would be too much effort; when you've got a best friend

in Yamaguchi, who needs anyone else?

Tsukki's socializiation had been forced upon him, really!,

by being taken under the spacious wing of Tetsurou Kuroo

and his band of freaks Kotarou Bokuto and Keiji Akaashi,

an almighty gust of wind throwing Tsukki off of his own

neatly designed social axis on the outside looking in.

What could go wrong when two owls and a cat mentor a fallen crow?

The answer is simple:

despite their childish energy,

there's a sense of camaraderie between them,

complementary traits inexorably bringing them together

and they have lived enough

to mature, to grow, to change, to adapt-

they have experienced a version of life

Tsukki will never see unless he _connects_ with them

something he's probably never gonna do,

not now, not ever

for who could enjoy the company a lanky loner like _him?_ -

yet here Tsukki is,

caught in the tornado of chatter

that is Kuroo, Bokuto, and Akaashi.

Tsukki's blessed, he supposes,

learning from the "masters"

(a word he uses loosely:

they've been to the training camp before,

and knowing what to expect is a form of mastery,

even if the mental gymnastics Tsukki uses is too much work,

the logic somehow makes sense)

for he benefits from this situation

even if he's not sure how the trio of older students benefits.

Bokuto likes to make epic sweeping speeches

as he wraps his arm around Tsukki's waist,

and Tsukki can't help but deadpan

"Why are you touching me like that?"

Bokuto's entire aura shifts,

a look of frantic arrogance trying to mask the confusion of being questioned

sits on his face,

"Because I'm the captain of this whole thing"

Kuroo likes to emphasize Bokuto's points with

enthusiastic emphasis, hands upon Tsukki's shoulders,

a jovial squeeze which makes Tsukki squirm,

but this sends Kuroo into a frenzy.

"I thought I was the captain," Kuroo wails, the melodrama making itself

comfortable in his presence (as it always has),

the entire gymnasium reverberating with his voice.

Kuroo and Bokuto, distracted by their bickering,

Tsukki lets out a laugh

all the while

Akaashi sends comforting looks of

 _those morons mean well,_

 _don't die taking them too seriously_

and

 _their brains matter the most_

 _even if their actions are strange_

Tsukki smiles, the barest of movements,

because now he knows something more:

even though he hates the sentimental,

he can't help but feel accepted.

Akaashi tells Tsukki

something that'll sure to stick with him forever:

"Volleyball games end, and the scores become blurry

but it's the memories that last forever,

so make them count" and Tsukki knows that those words

are sincere because Akaashi chooses them wisely

and he's the quietest one, the one most like Tsukki, the one who inherently

gets what it means to be an introvert with misplaced ambition;

Tsukki may not fit in

and he may not be perfect-far from it-

but there's a journey for him to start

that begins as he falls asleep.

* * *

Tsukki might be crazy,

but he never expected to be a lover of anything or anyone crazy

for he has returned to the dastardly trio

who drive him up the wall

but somehow, they remind him of how humanity buried deep within him

enjoyed being around other beings who approved of him,

who liked him enough to compliment him with a sense of unbridled joy

"Welcome back, you lanky weirdo!" Bokuto exclaims,

Kuroo and Akaashi brightening up just as brightly at the sight of him;

Tsukki's heart squeezes,

a feeling too much like romantic love for all of them,

as they dogpile him with attention,

something he basks in until they sober up

and

chatter about volleyball.

Boy, does he have a lot to brag about

once he tells the guys at Karasuno what he's been doing at practices...


	2. Bokuto

Kotaro Bokuto is the kind of guy who you expect

to have some kind of confusing backstory looming over him

To explain his inexplicable eclectic existence:

he has the brains of a genius-

even if he wastes that potential building

towers made from decks of cards-

but the soul of a simpleton,

straight-forward and easy to amuse

because there's a lightness illuminating his face

even when he's glum and

 _especially_ when he smles,

gifted with the energy of a child,

gleeful and innocent

without the haze of cynicism clouding the vision,

filtering his opinions through

the coffee-stained future

of what's ahead.

Instead, he is just Kotaro Bokuto-

lover of volleyball,

a young man with his head in the clouds

and his feet planted in the moment-

who can't help but notice the chatter

of all the first years in

the training camp with him,

vibrating with the kind of manic happiness

that didn't really do much to conceal

the anxiety-

overwhelming in its intensity

(so much uncertainty oozed, radioactively powerful,

that Bokuto's heart on his sleeves bled)

that somehow stank of body odor and fear of failure

...and yet...

the curiosity of heightened potential filled the air,

a scent unmistakable wafting through the air.

When Karasuno High School made their entrance,

Bokuto couldn't help but stare at the lanky blonde:

it was obvious that he was

an apprehensive brat with an attitude

just by observing his tense body language

and haughty face, contorted into an unreadable look

that tried to hide whatever discomfort he felt deep within;

despite all of that,

Bokuto felt himself intrigued to the blonde,

for there was a magnetic charm about him

that Bokuto couldn't place

but wanted nearby at all times.

The desire to fill whatever possessive need

to claim this person

as his own, as a prodigy unlocking the strength within

as someone to nurture,

to shape and mold and influence,

enticed Bokuto enough to make the plunge

and introduce himself

as the blonde was alone.

"Welcome to the spring training camp,

ya newb~ I'm Fukurodani Academy's own

Captain, Kotaro Bokuto,

and I'm taking you under my wing."

The blonde stammered out his name,

Kei Tsukishima, so thrown off guard

that he didn't even have the time to make

some snarky comment about Bokuto's arm draped around

Kei's bony shoulders,

squeezing hard enough, somehow managing

to convey affection

and to convey a competitive need to improve

and to prove that he could be a good influence.

Right away, Bokuto liked Tsukki:

he was an energetic young man

but in a quiet way,

forgoing flashiness for sarcasm

and a tactician's outlook,

meticulously planning what to say

(like the world would shift

if even the syllables were out of place,

buried beneath the worry that

an axis would shift all of a sudden

if not everyone immediately approved of him

in the way Tsukki approved of) ,

always acting before thinking,

so unlike Bokuto

but with that same energy and that same enigmatic desire for competition

those same desires to push himself to improvement.

At the end of the day,

Bokuto would make it a habit

to lean in close to Tsukki;

they stood close,

where Bokuto could see

a light speckling of freckles,

lips brushing

fingers laced

bodies close

an electric heat blooming

excited to emerge.

Tsukki flustered, (Bokuto grinning)

blushing and stammering,

a flurry of anxious, slurred words

an avoidance of eye-contact.

"I see potential in you," and a kiss

(warm and soft and intense,

with the earnesty of a puppy,

energy unmatched).

With Tsukki's heart racing out

of his chest,

like confetti ready to escape into a birthday party,

Bokuto knew he made the right choice in protege.


End file.
